The Benefits of Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is no longer a buzzword, fad or a trend. It is essential for every business that wants to survive and thrive during and beyond tough economic times. The best part of social media marketing is that it is essentially free, with the exception of the time spent on it. It is accessible to anyone with a computer—anyone who can read a blog, e-mail, article or website. The benefits are almost too numerous to cover in one blog post, but I’ll try. Fasten your seatbelts! Here is a whirlwind tour of Social Media Marketing benefits.
Social Media Marketing is Practically Free!
One of the best things about social media marketing is that it is practically free. The only cost to you to engage in social media marketing is your time. This can be a double-edged sword. In order to make sure that you make the most of your time and reap the benefits of your efforts, you do need to develop a plan and a focus so that you do not become endlessly mired in fruitless ventures.
Everyone Else is Doing it
Normally, that would not be my main reason for recommending any sort of activity; however, in the business world, if you do not secure a social media presence in your field, other businesses in your field will crowd you out. There may never come a time when it is entirely too late to enter into social media marketing on your own behalf, but there may come a time when it is more difficult to stand out and gain recognition for your company because the media landscape is already too crowded. Social media is still new enough that there is still more or less enough room for anyone who wants to participate. Best to jump in while there is still room in the pool!
Another take on the “everyone else is doing it” portion of advice is that consumers have come to expect that they can interact with their favorite brands and services online. If they can’t interact with you, they might just switch to a different service or company that allows them to communicate in this way. If your audience really likes you, and you don’t participate in the social media, you run the risk of leaving your position of neutrality online and entering the position of being loudly and publically panned. It is much better to be involved in the back and forth than to ignore it.
Social Media Marketing is great for Unobtrusive Spying!
It isn’t called “spying” if you are considered a friend, contact or trusted source of information, is it? Well, that depends upon your definition. However, a tremendous benefit of social media marketing is that, as a contact or friend of someone, you have an unprecedented window into their daily lives. You can see what they do, and what they like. By participating, you receive, literally, tons of data about your audience and potential consumers. You don’t have to ask people what they like, want or need, they will tell you freely-either through online polls (everyone loves a poll) or by letting you see what they are telling others, via social networking, that they want. It is up to you to figure out how to use all of that data to your advantage.
A more overt way of seeking information from social media marketing efforts is to ask your followers, contacts or friends to complete online polls or surveys, or to just answer questions you might post. Twitter is a great for that type of interaction. You can solicit responses for a variety of people relatively quickly. Simply ask a question and wait for your “followers” to answer it.
“Reality Marketing”
Social media marketing provides customers with a more personal link to the business or organization. It provides the highly sought after “transparency” factor. Consumers like to know as much as possible about the companies with which they do business, and social media provides a less formal way to interact. By participating in forums and online networks, you get to see the equivalent of “reality focus groups.” Instead of convening focus groups within an artificial environment, with social media marketing and relationship building, you get to participate and observe consumers chatting about what they are doing with something in real time, in real life.
Social media marketing is a win-win avenue for your business, as long as you participate. Don’t get left in the dirt. Begin a social media marketing plan now!
For more information on how you can integrate social media into your current marketing plan, go to http://www.IncreaseSalesWithSocialMedia.com
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